Tag Archives: iphone

App review: Grimm’s Rapunzel – 3D Interactive Pop-up Book

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Grimm’s Rapunzel – 3D Interactive Pop-up Book is a superb interactive version of the classic story that features all of the bells and whistles you would expect. Users can have the story read aloud to them (with them choosing the pace of the page turns), read it themselves, or watch the story in autoplay fashion. The pop-up elements not only let children explore the pages at their own pace, but also offer tasks to complete, such as planting and watering seeds to grow flowers or picking flowers. Young children will love the story, which is less frightening that many other Grimm fairy tales.

Read more at Common Sense Media


iPhone 4 coming to Verizon – officially

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After years of rumors, speculation and pining, Verizon finally has the iPhone.

The company made the formal announcement Tuesday, confirming that the top smartphone on the market will be available to its customers in early March, ending AT&T’s long run of exclusivity with the device.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Porn Companies Show Appitude In Cashing In on App Craze

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A little under a year ago, Apple began cleaning up its app store, seemingly banning app after app that had any form of titillation. Citing complaints from customers who found the apps degrading and upset about what children were able to see, the company vigorously purged hundreds of apps that focused on subjects such as women in swimsuits.

But porn is like water. It finds a way into everything and is actually thriving on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Read more at CNBC.com

Has the iPhone Become Big Brother Plus Terminator?

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In “The Terminator” film series, mankind brought a nuclear Armageddon upon itself when it created Skynet, an artificial intelligence service that became self-aware and rebelled against its creators. In essence, the population became too dependent on technology—and paid the price.

While the Apple iPhone hasn’t shown any Schwarzenegger-like tendencies quite yet, it’s pretty astonishing just how quickly its users have grown to rely on the phones—and how much control they have given it (along with the iPod Touch and iPad) over their day to day lives.

Read more at CNBC.com

The Year In Review: Game Biz Analysts On The Worst Happenings Of 2010

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Having picked the brains of Wall Street analysts on the best things to happen in the video game industry in 2010, there was no way we were going to let them go without talking about the worst as well.

This year, after all, might end in positive territory when all is said and done, but it’s going to be tough to look at it as a winner from several perspectives. Retail sales continue to spiral and developer-publisher relations took another blow to the chin. Meanwhile, stock prices of publicly traded game companies continued to lag.

Here’s what the analysts thought went wrong in 2010.

Read more at Gamasutra

Analysis: EA Expands Pogo.com, Looking For A Chance To Digitally Shine

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Gamasutra’s Chris Morris speaks to Michael Marchetti, senior vice president of EA’s casual gaming site Pogo.com about how he intends to “build the base of new players” to add to its 1.5 million active subscribers.

To the outside world, Pogo.com has always seemed like the redheaded stepchild of Electronic Arts. Bought nine years ago, there’s nothing flashy about the site and its core audience isn’t likely to buy a lot of other EA games – well, until the next Simsexpansion pack comes around, anyway.

It’s a consistent moneymaker, however; one that has generally been left to fend for itself. And it’s done quite well. As recently as 2007, in fact, it was handily beating Facebook in terms of time spent by users, according to Compete.com. But the industry is changing fast – and now Pogo.com is being asked to step up its game.

Read more at Gamasutra

App review: Mad Chad

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The first few levels of Mad Chad will probably make you smile — as a brief diversion from the day to day. By the time you get halfway through the game, though, you’ll likely be bored, as it hasn’t changed at all from what you started playing. The repetitive elements get old and you quickly realize there’s no real point in collecting the coins you encounter on virtually every level, as they don’t offer any real benefit. This is an average side-scrolling game app, but there are better options available.

Read more at Common Sense Media


App Review: Scene It? Harry Potter HD

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Even if you’ve seen all of the Harry Potter films and have a good knowledge of the series’ mythology, you’re bound to stumble across some head-scratchers in Scene It? Harry Potter HD. The app is a fun trivia challenge that will likely make you want to watch the films or read the books again and illustrates just how vibrant and rich a world J. K. Rowling has created. The use of local multiplayer is a fun one, as playing in the same room increases the intensity of playing against someone (versus an anonymous online interaction). The app’s in-your-face marketing of other products, though, along with occasional lock-up problems during film clips detracts from the fun — and starts to make the $4.99 price tag seem a bit high.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App Review: Over the Line?

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As parents, we hope that our kids will come to us when they’re facing tough situations. But as kids get older, that doesn’t always happen. In an era of digital harrassment and sexting, kids are often too embarrassed or ashamed to talk to their parents. Over the Line? is a useful tool for them to learn that they’re not alone and to learn what others are going through. Beyond the community aspects, which are carefully monitored, it also offers straightforward information and resources to help kids in trouble. It’s not ideal, but if nothing else, it lets kids talk about their fears and situations that embarrass them in an inviting, anonymous forum.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App Review: Talking Rex the Dinosaur

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There’s really nothing in Talking Rex the Dinosaur that Outfit7 hasn’t done in any of its six other “Talking Friends” apps. The main purpose of the series is for an animated on-screen character to repeat what you say to it in an altered voice. It’s a fun diversion, with a few features thrown in on the side — like feeding your dino a steak or playing a bit of catch with it — but it’s a one-trick pony that eventually does get old (generally much faster for adults than for kids). Still, the fierce T. Rex is bound to catch the eye of young dinosaur enthusiasts. The intensity of the animations might be a bit too much for the very young ones, though.

Read more at Common Sense Media